Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on FNF. Stephens started coverage on Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. National Bankshares set a $63.00 price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fidelity National Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.25.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

FNF opened at $54.34 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.14. Fidelity National Financial has a fifty-two week low of $50.61 and a fifty-two week high of $66.72. The firm has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.34%.The business’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.12%.

Insider Transactions at Fidelity National Financial

In related news, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total transaction of $366,930.21. Following the transaction, the director owned 276,308 shares in the company, valued at $15,923,630.04. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total value of $335,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $737,097.40. This trade represents a 31.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 4,545.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the third quarter worth $29,000. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fidelity National Financial

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. The company underwrites title insurance policies that protect property owners and lenders against title defects, liens, and other encumbrances. Alongside its core title insurance operations, FNF offers escrow and closing services, e-recording solutions, and real estate data and analytics through a network of agents and underwriters.

FNF operates through two primary segments: Title Insurance and Specialty Insurance and Services.